The Outsider
by GeekyAndLovingIt
Summary: I had a mission. I would make them all pay for making my friends suffer. I will give them hell. All things I said to myself, all promises kept and unkempt. What I never counted on however, was a boy that was named after a number and to find a family in the very faction system I aimed to destroy. AU story with OC. Four/OC
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: The Night

**Foreword: The inspiration for this story came from a question I had before I read Allegiant and everything was ruined. I wondered, what if someone from outside the fence came into Chicago to bring down the government? To make a long story short, my mind went nuts and this story was born. The protagonist in this story is my OC, not Tris. Tris will only make a few appearances. Sorry for those of you who just want to read about Tris. Four/Tobias, however, will be a very predominant character. This story mainly follows the plot of Divergent, there will be some changes though to make it more interesting. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Own only my OCs and this idea.**

Prologue

They say New York was once a loud and boisterous place to live. It was the city that never slept, the city that was always alive. But now, it was dead. So dead, that some people have begun to call it "Dead York". Not me. I have always thought of the city as sleeping, hibernating, never dead. The often eerie quiet of the city, reminded me of a calm before a storm. Some would say though, the storm had already been, and now there was damage and ruin. They say the war was the worst in history. It destroyed cities, ruined families and friendships. It killed 60% of the population. Everyone was involved in their own way. The corruption of human nature spanned from the golden coast of California to the busy lights of Tokyo. I didn't believe in that. Humans were corrupt, yes. But it was nothing new. Nothing we could fix and nothing that would go away. We humans, are truly the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The war was what created the Zones. Radioactive zones; that changed many lives. 75% of the people who got caught in radiation died a slow and painful death within hours, the lucky ones within minutes. Roughly 23% came home unscathed but then slowly lost their minds instead of their bodies. They became rabid. We'd nicknamed those the "Braindead". I honestly don't know who came up with these nicknames, but no one was in any hurry to change them. And it wasn't even on my radar. You see, me and my seven other friends who are more like my family, actually, are part of that other 2% that wondered into the Zones. We didn't die, obviously and we never lost our minds, which would have made me telling this story very different. But that doesn't mean we weren't affected. Some call what happened to our ancestors that led to us, a blessing. At times, I agree with them. But most of the time, I think of it as a curse. It was another thing to add onto the piling list of crap that separated us from normal.

But, hey, when has normal ever been anywhere on my radar.

I am Mackenzie Rose Ashe. This is how I left the only home I ever knew, harboring the only people I had ever called family. This is how I traveled to the one place, truly unscathed by the war, too bring down their seemingly perfect society. This is how I met Tobias Eaton. This is how I raised hell.

Chapter One: The Night

I don't need sleep. I never have. That sounds inhuman and unnatural, but in my mind, rest is for the weary and sleep is for the dead. I once told my youngest friend, Bryce, that and he looked at me like I had completely lost it. He would later learn that there was no such thing as a quiet moment when you were one of us. When you were a Catalyst. That is what people called us. We all thought it was intimidating, so none of us were eager to change it. My best friend, Ceece, said it sounded like catastrophe. I made the argument that we are one.

She'd laughed and said, "There is a difference between an insomnia suffering maniac and a catastrophe, Kenz."

So, it was a surprise to me and to everyone that I had to be shaken awake one night.

"Wake up!" someone yelled in my ear.

I could deduce by the fact that they were yelling, and yelling quite loud too, that I was the only one asleep that night.

Oh, the irony.

The only reason I didn't punch the one who had woken me up in the rudest way possible, was that I recognized his voice as the voice of Bryce Vasquez, my little brother.

Well, Bryce wasn't really my little brother. But I referred to him that way. He was 12 while I was 16 almost 17. He acted like he was 5 sometimes. Then again, I acted like I was 20 at times.

Bryce was the youngest Catalyst. At least from what we knew of. Which wasn't a lot. There used to be a whole lot more of us, so they say. There were eight of us living together now. Well, nine, if you count Salas. Salas was like my father. He took me in when I was a child wondering on the street after losing my parents. I was scarred, frightened, and probably on the edge of losing my sanity. But he took me in, healed me, and taught me how to fight so I would never be at the mercy of others again.

Scars do heal, but they never fade, I would always remember.

"What's happening?" I asked Bryce, as I pulled my black combat boots on and through my favorite leather jacket over my scarlet tank top.

"Braindead," he said simply. "All around the base. They are saying this could be the time, Mackenzie."

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about that. I didn't want to think about leaving.

"They said that about the five other times," I quipped. "Just because they say it, doesn't mean it will ever happen."

Bryce looked down seemingly ashamed. I felt sorry for kind of snapping at him, then again, he did yell in my ear.

"Look," I started, wanting to compensate for my earlier comment. "I am in no hurry to leave you guys. You guys would never survive attacks like this without me." I smiled at him to let him know I was partially kidding. In a way however, I wasn't. I didn't want to brag, but I was the best warrior this base had. I had a gift in battle to think with my head and heart in sink. A gift that was very rare among warriors in general. I didn't want to think about what would happen if I had to leave.

No. I was staying. There was no way that I would leave my family.

"Come on," I said to Bryce, putting on a brave face. "Let's go kick some Braindead ass."

**As you can see, I combined the prologue and chapter one because they were kind of short. The rest won't be that short. I hope y'all enjoyed and if you liked it please review, because honestly, they make my day!**

**I like to put a verse from whatever song has been stuck in my head for the day at the end of the chapter and whoever gets it right first, I will mention at the beginning of the chapter. So here is the song that has been stuck in my head all day since my Theology class…**

_God knows what is hiding in that weak and drunken heart_

_I guess you kissed the girls and made them cry_

_Those hard faced Queens of misadventure_

_God knows what is hiding in those weak and sunken eyes_

_A Fiery throng of muted angels_

_Giving love and getting nothing back_

**And don't forget to…**

**R**

**E**

**V**

**I**

**E**

**W**


	2. Chapter 2: The Train

**Disclaimer: Don't own Divergent. Only OCs and idea.**

Chapter Two: The Train

Braindead are not like zombies. I know so many people who have called them that and I always ask, "Have you ever fought one before?"

The stereotypical zombie is slow, rotting, bloody, gross, and, well, dead. Like _fully _dead. Don't take my word for it. I have never met a zombie before. I, like everyone else, have only seen them in old movies we find in raids. But Braindead are _not_ anything like a zombie. Braindead are definitely not dead. Believe me, they are very much alive. However they were not human in any way. Braindead are also fast, really fast, faster than the normal human, stronger and, this is a bit of a stretch, smarter. All because of their mutated genes from the radiation. The only people on Earth that have the abilities that rival theirs, are us. The 2%. Catalysts. Me.

That meant that it didn't matter how old you were, when you were one of us. You fought.

This is why I didn't protest when Bryce walked to my pace, down the halls of the quiet base. Our base was located in what used to be a place called Grand Central Station. It was mostly used as our lab, training room, and, well, our _home._ But we also offered it as a refuge for the wounded, starving, homeless, and everything in between. Salas always told us that being a Catalyst meant we were more powerful than an average human being.

"But the thing about power," he always used to say. "Is that it is a true test of a person's character. If you use that power to hurt others that are 'weaker' than you, rather than protect them, then you don't deserve the gifts that were given to you."

_Gifts. _I thought to myself. I snorted. Some would say otherwise.

I heard that Grand Central used to be a train station. A _long _time ago. I had never been on a train before. The only trains, ran outside of the city. I shuddered when I thought about that. If I left, I would travel outside of the city and catch the train into Chicago.

Oh, Chicago. The only city that was unharmed by the war. Or at least by the radiation. No one knows the whole story. Chicago was a mystery. The only people who knew what went on in Chicago were those that lived there.

Or _had_ lived there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mackenzie!" I whipped my head around trying to see who was calling my name. The blood was pounding so loudly in my head that I wasn't able to comprehend who it was.

It was a bloodbath. There were more Braindead than I had ever seen before. They were attacking everything and everyone. We had never anticipated this.

That's when I realized it and my heart was filled with dread. We _had never anticipated this before. _

I knew who was calling my name and I knew why. We had carefully planned this out down to the most unlikely of scenarios. I had listened to the plan. I knew what I had to do. But it was like a fire drill. That's is what it had felt like up until this moment. Like we had planned, practiced it, again, and again, but the likelihood had felt like next to nothing.

Until it happens.

I brought my fist back and it collided with a Braindead who had grabbed me from behind. I took one of my knives out of my pocket and stabbed them in the stomach. I looked into their none-human eyes and I saw the "life" leave them. I'd never been afraid of fighting a Braindead, it was the killing that I hated.

Because I felt some form of pleasure each time I did it.

I ran through the mob of soldiers, some Catalysts, and many Braindead. I tried to keep my head straight ahead and eyes focused on where I needed to go, because I knew if I did otherwise I would stop. I had to do this.

I don't know how far I ran, or how fast. I just knew that I had to get to the outskirts of the city, the only place there was a train.

Some people think that Catalysts have no fear. We run into battle without thinking of dying. That was a lie. A total complete lie. There was little I feared. But leaving my family and friends, I felt some form of angst and anxiety.

Finally I saw it. My ride away from here. I dug my heels in the dirt to stop myself, nearly crashing into the one who had called my name in the first place.

"Wow," he said. He looked just as worn-out as I was. His dark chocolate eyes were wild and his black hair stuck up in various places with blood and sweat. Your own personal hair gel. How convenient.

His intelligent and observant eyes studied me. I knew he wasn't just here to see me off because he had too, being the only citizen from Chicago and all, but he was also here because he was my friend. More than that even. He didn't want me to do this alone, even though I had thought that was the only way I could do this.

"Mackenzie, I made a promise to always be there for you, no matter what you say or what you do. And I know you would do the same for me. For all of us."

He was right of course, he was always right.

He gave me a reassuring nod. "C'mon," called another man, one of the New York's small government's lackeys, no doubt. Probably here to make sure I actually get on this train. "We don't have all day."

"No," said the only one here who actually cared about me at the moment. "But we do have five minutes. So let us make the most of it. Or else there is no way she is getting on that train." Lackey's face contorted with anger, but he nodded. I clenched my fist. I hated it when he spoke for me. It was probably for the best though. The New York government had no respect for me. They did for him however, Jarek Cole. My best friend. My family. My partner in crime and in battle. The person I would miss the most if I got on that train.

He was right about there being five minutes before the train got here, but I had no idea what I was supposed to say. I refused to say goodbye. That sounded cheesy and corny beyond belief, but I had always been stubborn.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I knew, he knew the answer to that. He could see right through me. He was only asking as a formality.

"I'll be fine." I told him. I was afraid that if I said even more, I would break down, and I definitely didn't want to do that. That would be beyond embarrassing.

I could tell he was thinking about what to say, considering what would comfort me and what wouldn't.

"You know what you need to do, right?" I smiled. Of course, he knew. He knew how to distract me from what was happening and I was grateful for that.

Before I could answer, he said, "You can't be reckless, Mackenzie. You need to hide who you are, act the part of an Abnegation, even though you will choose a different faction." That had been part of the preparation for this, learning about the faction and how to act like an Abnegation.

"I know," I said. "Selfless, quiet, and with no self-preservation. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

He smiled, "You can do it."

Then he trailed off, "I hope…" he added.

I glared at him. He smirked, then he pulled me in his arms, his gangly yet athletic form swallowing me and I didn't want to leave. Why couldn't they send someone else?

"Be stronger than I was, Kenzie," he whispered in my ear.

"C'mon," said the lackey. I had forgotten he was there. "Train's coming. Are you going to jump on or do I have to throw you?"

I glared at him, "I can jump," I said, ice in my words. He backed off. I looked back at Jarek. His stoic expression hid a lot. Even I couldn't see through his placid stature.

I heard the train fly down the tracks. I wasn't afraid to get on it. I was afraid of what would happen once I did. Or worse yet, what would happen once I got off. I started out in a slow jog that turned into a full on sprint. I was racing along the track and then took off from my back foot, grabbing on to a handle next to the door and swinging myself in. I hit the metal with a hard thump. There was nothing inside the car but a couple of hay bales. How they got there, I had no idea.

I stuck my head out and looked back. Jarek and the lackey had started to turn into small, black blobs, beginning to fade into the city. I was leaving. I may never come back. I may never see them again.

I sat down and rested up against one of the hay bales. I was tired, but couldn't sleep. So I let my thoughts wonder to the future. Tomorrow, I'd be in Chicago, or somewhere outside at least. I would have to figure out a way to get into the city and into Abnegation where I would have to track down the one person Jarek said would help me, Natalie Prior.

I looked out onto the orange sky, the sun was starting to fade in the distance. Tomorrow, I would start a new life, while trying to save my old one and the people in it.

I wasn't afraid.

And that's what scared me the most.

**Well there's chapter two. I hope you guys liked it. These first two chapters have kind of been to introduce Mackenzie and how she gets to Chicago. I didn't put Mackenzie's and her friends' backstories in one chapter, because I hate it when authors do that (no offense intended) but I will explain bits by bits throughout the story. Now, please review. This chapter was a sucker to write. **

**No one guessed the song in the last chapter but in case anyone was curious it's called People Help the People by Birdy. **

**I would also like to thank Brittnayyy for being the first to follow this story. That means a lot. **

**So here's the song for this chapter…**

_There's a Mountain Dew can with lipstick on it_

_Rollin' round his truck bed_

_He just leaves it back there_

_One of the things he has left of her_

_When he drives into the late day sun_

_You can see a set of footprints_

_He ain't going to clean that windshield_

_He'd rather just live with the hurt_

**Oh, and I hope everyone has a happy Easter. Imma go and eat some chocolate.**


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